The 38-year-old, winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2014 on Lord Windermere, struck the blow after the horse briefly threatened to either unseat Russell or jump the pre-race ‘show’ hurdle.

He had argued he wanted the horse to concentrate and that it was inappropriate to use the whip under the circumstances.

The rider’s actions were heavily criticised in many quarters, including by the RSPCA, while television footage created a stir on social media.

But British jockey Tom Scudamore – the son of eight-time champion jockey Peter and grandson of Grand National winner Michael – insists Russell does not deserve to be hounded for his actions.

Speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, Scudamore said:“It’s something you don’t want to see and don’t want to happen, but sometimes you’ve got to take those measures just in order to keep things safe

“I think the punishment Davy has got now is correct, I think he did deserve some days, but he’s been let down in other ways. It’s been allowed to drag on and because of that things have snowballed.

“Davy has a responsibility of looking after his welfare and the horse’s welfare. Of course he would have loved to have whispered to it, ‘listen sweetheart, we’ve got to go two and a half miles and jump ten hurdles in a minute, I’d appreciate you just helping me out a little bit here instead of trying to run off with me and not concentrate’.

“If it’s dealing with a hurdle it’s not even meant to jump in the way it did, what is it going to do in five minutes’ time when you’ve got ten other horses around it going at 30 miles per hour?

“Sometimes you’ve got to take measures to look after yourself and the horse. Daly wasn’t doing it for any other reason than just trying to make the horse realise its responsibilities and to look after the pair of them.

“Yes, it doesn’t look good, but it’s trying to explain why he’s done it and why he’s taken those measures.”